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A virtual visit to a bookstore via Google maps

I’m a follower of Ebook friendly, a blog about eBooks and related subjects. Piotr Kowalczyk, who writes it, keeps his pulse on the eBook world and always has something interesting to say, but his latest post caught be by surprise, since it was about visiting a bookstore via Google maps and Google Street View. It’s the way of the future, folks.

I’ll leave Piotr to explain it to you:

Fascinating: visiting a bookstore using Google Street View

Looking at places via Google Maps and Google Street View from a god’s perspective is nothing new and many people got used to it. But the magic comes when we go inside. And it gets absolutely mesmerizing when the interiors we enter are full of books.

O’Reilly Tools of Change shared a post on Facebook which invited to have a virtual walk through the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver (here is link to bookstore’s website). I became extremely interested, as I love to find and explore technology that helps people read again. I came to Tattered Cover – and it was a totally striking experience.

The pictures are surprisingly sharp. They are so detailed that you can read book titles. There are shadows of people on the move, giving a feeling of human presence. Once you learn how to use Google Street navigation and zooming function, you can fully enjoy being,well, in a real bookstore. (Click on the photo above to reach the Google map page, then rotate the circle in the top right-hand corner GC.)

I was looking for an opened book, to check whether it’s possible to read it in Google Street View. I didn’t find it in Tattered, but there is one in Capitol Hill Books (check this Google Street View link and pan down a bit).